This retrospective study investigated the incidence, characteristics, and
risk factors of bone fracture among a group of 518 adults with severe mental
retardation between 25 and 75 years old. Data were collected from a large state
developmental center in the Western United States between April 1, 1991 and
March 31, 1996. Ninety-six of 271 males and 133 of 247 females experienced
291 fractures during the study period. Relative risk of fracture for all males was
.658 compared to 1.540 for females. Menopausal status did not significantly
influence the risk of fractures among females. Risk of fracture by self-feeding
ability ranged from 1.675 for individuals who were tube fed to .343 for those
requiring no assistance during meals. As a group, individuals with a body mass
index (BMI) less than 20 were at the greatest risk of fracture (RR=2.416). Males
with BMI values between 20-25 (RR=.560) and greater than 25 (RR=.373) had
a decreased risk of fracture. Ambulatory males and females had a significantly
decreased risk of fracture (RR=.356 and .559 respectively). Rib, femur,
vertebrae, and radial fractures accounted for nearly 60% of all fractures. The
etiology of the 41% of fractures was of unknown origin. Transfers by
developmental training personnel (10.3%), falls to the ground (15.8%), and
accidents (32.6%) were also frequently related to fracture cause. Logistic
regression analysis revealed the occurrence of any fracture was significantly
associated with ambulation, calcium intake, body weight, self-feeding ability, and
body mass index. / Graduation date: 1997
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/34127 |
| Date | 20 January 1997 |
| Creators | Downs, Steve B. |
| Contributors | McCubbin, Jeffrey, Dunn, John M. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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